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HAMILTON - A former Rotorua police chief admitted he thought a sex assault on Louise Nicholas was non-consensual, but told her to "move on", a jury was told today.
John Buchanan Dewar, 55, of Hamilton, is on trial at the High Court in Hamilton on four charges of attempting to obstruct or defeat the course of justice between 1993 and 1995.
Dewar was chief inspector in the Rotorua CIB when Mrs Nicholas approached police in 1993 with two historic sex allegations, including one against suspended assistant police commissioner Clint Rickards and former policemen Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum.
The Crown alleges Dewar suppressed allegations Mrs Nicholas made against the three men and attempted to pervert the course of justice during the rape trial of a former policeman, who has permanent name suppression, by giving inadmissible evidence.
After two mistrials, a third trial led to the former policeman's acquittal.
Mrs Nicholas, then Louise Crawford, said the former policeman, who was not in the police at the time the complaint was made, had sexually assaulted her when she was 13.
Mrs Nicholas also alleged that at a Rutland Street address in Rotorua Mr Rickards, Schollum and Shipton had sexually assaulted her and used a baton on her.
Dewar denied Mrs Nicholas told him about the Rutland Street incident or the baton.
Mrs Nicholas said she had been happy to sign a statement in her name, critical of Inspector Rex Miller who headed the Miller Inquiry into the handling of the mistrials, as she had found him gruff and did not like dealing with him, in comparison with Dewar whom she liked.
Mrs Nicholas said she had not read the report and would not have signed it if she had known the statement said she had not told Dewar about the incident at Rutland Street and the use of the baton.
"I know if it had done that ... I would have corrected it."
Mrs Nicholas said she had skimmed over the report, which she said she had found was filled with lots of "impressive" words that she would never have used.
"But I signed it knowing I was helping Dewar out."
Mrs Nicholas told the court how after the three trials she had got on with her life.
"It was a matter of having to, I had three little girls to look after.
"There was nothing more that I could do.
"John Dewar had done all he could."
Mrs Nicholas said it was not until 2003 when she was approached by reporter Philip Kitchen, that concerns she had over the mistrials and complaints began to fall into place, causing her to rethink her opinion of Dewar.
In January 2004 Mrs Nicholas agreed to wear a wire and confront Dewar at his work in an effort to get him to confess his role in the investigations.
In a 2004 video played to the jury today, in which Mrs Nicholas was wearing a hidden wire and was being videoed, Dewar made two references to the baton being used on her and to Rutland Street.
Dewar said he did not think the baton incident had been consensual but said he believed other aspects of her involvement with Mr Rickards, Shipton and Schollum had been.
In the video, Dewar also says the three men were his mates at the time and still were.
Mrs Nicholas said she had been raped by the men to which Dewar replied she had obviously not got over it.
Dewar told her he did not think it would be helpful rehashing the past and speaking with the media, who had also approached him about the investigations, saying he did not want to get involved.
Mrs Nicholas told Dewar the men had "treated me like an animal".
"You're not the only one," Dewar replied.
Dewar said the three men had a reputation for being party animals at the time, and for boozing up.
He then cautioned her over speaking to the media again, as it might not be in her interests.
"It could embarrass a lot of people," she said.
"That's a matter for you. Would it change anything?" he replied.
The video was shown on television in 2004 and sparked a criminal investigation.
Cross-examination is due to continue tomorrow, after the hearing was adjourned this afternoon because of a juror falling ill.
- NZPA
